Ford Goes Off To Hunt Gold

In theory Ford will play John Thornton, a prospector braving the Yukon on the hunt for gold. The big-budget film is being adapted by 20th Century Fox from the classic 1903 Jack London novel about the gold rush of the 1890s. It has impressive cinematic as well as literary pedigree. Thornton was previously played by Clark Gable in a 1935 film version and by Charlton Heston in a 1972 version. Over the decades, the title has inspired everything from a silent movie to a Snoopy TV special.

Chris Sanders is directing the film, which will have a script by Michael Green. Erwin Stoff is producing with Diana Pokorny serving as executive producer and Ryan Stafford working as co-producer. Steve Asbell will oversee the production for Fox.

Production starts in early September. The film will rely heavily on the work of Technoprops, a special effects studio that was purchased by Fox in 2017 and whose founder, Glenn Derry, had previously worked on Avatar. Let’s hope that fake backgrounds etc are kept to a minimum…